James tittle



(No Model.)

J. TITTLE. LOOKING RAILROAD RAILS TO THEIR FISH PLATES AT THE RAILJoliws.

Patented Feb. 1, 1887 I ll'irs stares PATENT tries,

JAMES TITTLE, OF JOHNSTOYVIT, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TOJOHN S. TIT'TLE, OF SAME PLACE.

LOCKING RAILROAD-RAILS T0 THEIR FISH-PLATES AT THE RAIL-JOINTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 356.90%, dated February1, 1887.

(No model.)

ToaZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES TI'ITLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Johnstown, in the county of Cambria and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful IDIPIOVBDIBDtS inLocking Railroad Rails to their Fish-Plates at the RailJoints; and I dodeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference beinghad to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The special object of the invention is to lock fishplates to railroadrails by a bolt and key in such a manner that the key maybe quickly inscrted in the slot of bolt or removed therefrom, while the fish-platesare held securely to the rail without becoming loose.

Figure l of the drawings is a perspective view showing my inventionapplied. Fig. 2 is a detail View of the bolt; Fig. 3, a similar view ofthe key, and Fig. at a similar View of the instrument with which the keyis put in or taken out of the bolt.

In the drawings, A A represent two railroad-rails held together by thefish-plates B E.

C are bolts which pass through the fishplates and rails, are slotted atc, and are provided with oblong necks 0'', under the head a.

D is the key, which has the longitudinal cut (I, and at right angles tothis the cut-out d, to form an integral tongue, at", which fits behindthe shoulder d. This tongue is in the direction of the taper of the key,and on one ofthe edges thereof, while the key is made of malleablestcclsuch as,when made into wire, will tie into a knot, like a piece ofstring. E- reprcsents the punch which I preferably employ inmanipulating the key.

I am aware that keys split at the end have been used in the slots ofbolts to hold fishplates to the rail 5 but theyare so dllfifillll] andtroublesome that the bolt and key are both broken in order to avoiddelay. As these bolts and keys are frequently removed and must be veryquickly replaced, so as to be in position when the next train comesalong, it is a matter of the greatest importance that it shall bepossible to handle them rapidly. This cannot be done with a key split atthe end; hence the railroad companies prefer the old screw and nut,which requires frequent tightening up, rather than incur the delay ofmanipulating the split-key lock.

My wedge or tapering key is placed in the correspondingly shaped boltslot 0, then tapped on the head with the heavier end of 6c the punch Euntil the tongue d has passed through to the opposite side of the bolt.I now place the smaller end of the punch upon the tongue and tap thehead of punch, and the lock is complete and perfectly secure.

lVhen it becomes necessary to remove the key, I merely strike thesmaller end of the key with the heavier end of the punch, when thetongue is automatically forced behind the shoulder d and the key comesout without the 0 smallest delay.

In towns and at stations where the bolts are locked on the inside of therails,it is necessary that the keys shall not stand vertically, as theywill be struck by the flanges of the 5 wheels. In order to avoid this, Imake the long axis of the neck 0 in the same plane with the cross-slotc. This neck fits a corresponding slot in one of the fish-plates. Thebolt is then inserted, so as to bring the neck and slot into ahorizontal plane, or nearly so.

F is an annular washer, which I prefer to use between the key andfish-plate; but it is not necessary to the working of my invention, andmay be dispensed with. 8

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and dcsi re toprotect by Letters Patent, is-

The key D, having the longitudinal cut (I, and at right angles theretothe cut-out d, 0 thus forming the tongue (1 and shoulder d incombination with the rails A, fish-plates B, and bolt 0, the latterhaving the slot 0 and oblong neck o, the long axis of said neck being inthe same plane with the slot, as and forthe 5 purpose specified.

In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES TITTLE.

Witnesses:

A. RUPPERT, THOMAS P. Srnrson.

